Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Tried It & Liked It!

This post title reminds me of Yo Gabba Gabba, which is always on heavy rotation in our house. "Try it, you'll like it!" If you're familiar perhaps it's stuck in your head now too!

Anyway, this past weekend I set a goal to try a new recipe every single day this week. I cook our meals daily, but we get so set on the same things that I am always feeling like I need to mix it up. My intentions are usually great- I'll pin my heart out, spend time on food blogs, but so often I'll end up returning to an old favorite rather than branching out. This week though, I've tried a good amount of new dishes...and it's only Tuesday. Awesome!

Here are some of the recipes/ideas I've tried and loved:

1. Chia Seed Pudding

Looks NASTY, tastes delicious. Autumn and I made an "just okay" batch this weekend with almond milk. It grew on us, but the next day I decided to try it with coconut milk and it was 100x better. I got the recipe off of the back of the Trader Joe's chia seed bag, which they sell for $4.99. I'll post it below for those who don't have a TJ's. You can get chia seeds at any health store! Henry also really loved this stuff. I told him it was ice cream ("ice team" in Henry language) and he gobbled it right up and then asked for seconds (and thirds).

Here's all you do: 1 cup coconut milk for every 1/4 cup Chia seeds. Mix together- if you prefer you can add in sweetener like agave or honey, puréed fruit, vanilla, cocoa powder, etc. Set for 2-3 hours in the fridge and enjoy!

Whoa, whoa, whoa! This is honestly one of the best things I've ever made. Super easy and super delicious. Hank obviously doesn't eat meat so I am slowly savoring the entire thing. I can't wait to have some of our meat-eating friends over to enjoy this with me. It's just that good. Check out the recipe here and then stay awhile on her blog- it's my current favorite.

3. Vegan chocolate banana "soft serve"

When I was in NYC with Em last month we got soft serve at the Soft Serve Fruit Co., and I fell in love with the idea of puréeing fruit into a dairy-like treat. I tried it at home tonight and fell in love. It's such a nice switch from the frozen yogurt I love so much, and it's super easy to make! Simply peel and cut up 3-4 bananas and freeze them overnight. The next day throw them into your food processor or blender and blend until you achieve a whipped, ice cream like consistency. You can also add in cocoa powder, nut butters, you name it!

Yay for new recipes and ideas. I'll keep on sharing things I try and like as I make them, so stay tuned!

I've been experimenting more in the kitchen too. I finally tried coconut butter and just put a post up about how I incorporated it into my diet. Of course, its in a candy form, but its not bad for you - I even used raw chocolate. It would be a fun finger food for Henry (say that fast five times, ha!), + I'm sure you could sub something besides chocolate in it. Here's the recipe, let me know if you try it out!

That pork green chile dish sounds delicious! I've tried to make vegan fro-yo before and I must have done something terribly wrong because it never really froze. It was just mashed bananas that were really cold. :(

I've been making milkshakes minus the milk, but I think I might update my recipe and freeze the bananas first now thanks to this post. I use almond milk, bananas, pure almond butter, and some decaf chai tea concentrate for some spice. It's so good!

Tried the chia seed pudding last night. I took a tiny bite to see how it was, ending up eating the whole bowl, and had to make more so my son can have it for dessert tonight. It was just the seeds and slightly sweetened coconut milk and it was so good!

ummmm! i made the Chia seed pudding and didn't try it for a day because i was nervous. i had it with fruit for breakfast today and i love it!! i mad the coconut chicken too and it was a success. thank you for posting these yummy whole food meals and all the pictures help!

Ummmm can I just say the banana soft serve is the best thing ever!! Casey and I are vegetarian and try to eat pretty clean, but Im a huge choco-holic. So this will help me with my craving. Casey is the one that saw it and had to try it. Thanks. Im always going to have frozen nana's in my freezer at all times for the chocolate fix. ;) I added some peanut butter to it and it was d'lish.

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